Lassie hates Ramen Noodles!
by MatildaHummingbird
Summary: Tri-Quel to Old Scars and New Friends: Ray's back with bad news - unsurprisingly someone else is on Shawn's case. Where are all these wackos coming from -and how can Lassiter keep Shawn alive this time when Shawn is INSISTING he get involved? SLASH FIC!
1. Chpt 1: Nooner

**A/N PLEASE READ!**

-Okay, so this fic is a TRI-QUEL, meaning that there are two before it. Now, to understand it you don't have to read the first instalment found in my profile called **"Stubborn or Heroic Why Does Lassie Keep Staring**?." – However if you want to get past the first few paragraphs of this fic with out assuming this new 'Ray' character is a shameless Gary Sue and just clicking the back button then PLEASE. Go to my profile and give **"Old Scars New Friends Down Lassie!"** a read. Thanks!

As always reviews are encouraged! Please enjoy the chapter!

~Matilda

**Nooner**

Tokyo Japan was as busy a night scene as any other big city in the world. The night clubs were filled with party goers and the streets were filled to the brim with late night traffic. The excessive honking of car horns mixed with dull throbbing techno music went unnoticed by the scene's regulars. However for one Ray Dunn it was a metronome. Nothing more then a concentration point for his next shot.

The G.A.S agent was perched high up in the Tokyo tower, low to the floor with his rifle aimed. He searched through the scope intently, passing over every pedestrian out tonight – searching and knowing that his target would be among them. Finally he saw her, the raven haired girl he knew to have worked with former G.A.S agent Don Lauren.

Takaha Kanno was her name, and like Don Lauren before her – she was a snake. Ray kept his sites on her for a good period of time – following her with his scope until she was in the clear. After about 45 seconds Ray had a shot. He pulled the trigger. The girl was down. Ray was done.

Ray watched through the scope down as the girl that was walking with her suddenly screamed, and turned to her fallen a friend – the other girl must've been no older then 17, which confused Ray. He didn't know Takaha to fraternize with minors. Something wasn't right. Ray cursed under his breathe, and following his gut, he did the one thing G.A.S agents weren't supposed to do – he got close to the crime scene. He blended into the background, having left his weapon up in the tower for pick up later. He watched as police and CSI swarmed the body like flies, and when they finally turned the girl over Ray's suspicion was confirmed. The girl he killed wasn't Takaha Kanno. Dammit.

Ray was off then, disappearing into an alley and stalking down it as he pulled out his phone pressing the first number on his speed dial. The voice to answer was male.

"Sir?"

"I got the wrong shot." Ray said "It was a decoy, Kanno isn't on scene."

"Your orders?"

"Pull up all previous accounts; make sure they're all balanced."

"Right now Sir?" The operator sounded unsure, and if Ray was there he would've hit him.

"Yes, now. I want the last three transactions listed."

"Yes sir."

There were a few moments of silence then, and Ray could hear his tech typing away until finally the tech spoke again.

"There was a withdrawal from the Lauren account."

"Where?" Ray demanded.

"Tokyo Air."

"Destination?"

"Give me another minute."

There was more silence then as the tech started typing again.

"Well?" Ray pressed for an answer, rolling his eyes when the tech sighed at him.

"Santa Barbara California."

"You're sure?" Ray needed to be a sure.

"There's a reason I was hired here." The tech reminded Ray, "Shall I get you a ticket?"

"No, I'll take care of that myself thanks." Ray hung up, but he didn't put down his phone. He knew how Takaha played the game and he wasn't ready to take chances – he dialled another number.

"Detective Lassiter" Lassiter's voice sounded just as Ray recalled from 6 months ago, demanding and arrogant.

"Ray Dunn." Ray wasn't beating around the bush. He could hear Lassiter's breathe quicken just a hitch.

"Oh – hey mom, how are you?" Lassiter kept his voice steady, which impressed Ray – a tad, and the detective didn't give any indication he was talking to anyone suspicious.

_Good boy. _

"I'm coming back to Santa Barbara." Ray said "Clear your schedule tomorrow night."

"That sounds great mom…but I'm kind of on a case." Lassiter sounded weary then, and he had every reason to.

"Pass the case onto your partner." Ray didn't make it a question. "There's a very good chance that your psychic's in danger again – and I doubt even he's going to see this one coming."

There was no long moment of silence; Lassiter didn't need to think about. Ray knew how Lassiter felt about Spencer – which was why he had immediately wagged the psychic in front of the detective like bait. It was a guarantee to have Lassiter bite.

"When and where?" Lassiter asked.

Ray gave Lassiter a time and place, and hung up leaving Lassiter sitting at his desk with a dry mouth. Unlike Tokyo, Santa Barbara was currently midday. Sunlight was pouring over every building and person. It was beautiful really, the sunshine seeming to be infectious. Thus making everyone currently around detective Lassiter seem even that more annoying. So it really didn't help that Lassiter had just gotten what he was now referring to as 'the call of death.'

Putting his phone down on his desk, Lassiter inwardly groaned – why was Ray Dunn calling him? Why? 6 months had gone by and Lassiter had been sure that he was in the clear of that whole G.A.S mess. This wasn't fair. Lassiter's expression soured greatly, a move that didn't go unnoticed by Juliet.

"What's with the look?" Her voice was accompanied by the same faint laugh she always had whenever she wasn't sure how to approach a person.

"Just tired from the case." Lassiter lied, "How'd the witness report go?"

"Pretty good actually." Juliet announced "I think I might have a lead."

"Really?" Lassiter sounded hopeful; if this thing could be solved by tomorrow night then he wouldn't have to worry about Ray too much.

"Yeah – witness said she saw a man in a red sweater leaving the convenient store across the street shortly after the shots went off. I'm heading there now to see if the store had any cameras, and maybe get identification."

"Yes." Lassiter said "That is exactly what I wanted to hear! - …Hey um, do you mind if I take off? I'm not feeling too well." Another lie.

"Sure I guess." Juliet didn't seem to mind. "I'll just grab up McNabb – see you tomorrow?"

"We'll see." Lassiter had his jacket and was standing. "I'm sorry about this."

"Oh don't be." Juliet; insisted "I sill owe you from the week I had bronchitis."

Which was coincidentally the same week this whole thing with Ray first took place - wicked.

He bid Juliet goodbye and was quick to get home, he needed to think, to clear his head, and try to ready himself for whatever Ray Dunn had to say. Because it couldn't be anything good. Lassiter pushed through his door – and was suddenly surprised to find that Shawn was home.

"Lassie you're early!" Shawn looked happy, and he leapt from the couch to plant a big fat kiss right on Lassiter's mouth. For that brief moment Lassiter's mind did indeed clear, and Lassiter had to kiss back. Shawn home after such a disturbing call was more then welcome, Lassiter was comfortable again and he slipped easily into domestic mode.

"I wasn't feeling too well." Again Lassiter lied "So I turned everything over to O'Hara for the rest of the day."

"Oh." Shawn frowned a bit then. "You're sick? Awww man and I kissed you! Now I'm going to get sick. This so isn't fair Lassie."

"You're just the sweetest thing." Lassiter used sarcasm "You really know how to make a man feel welcome in his own home."

Shawn grinned, and offered a shrug "I learned from the best – now how sick are we talking? 'Oh-my-lanta I have a cold', or bring in the hazmat suits and the hose?"

"Just run down." Lassiter admitted, "Was thinking of just relaxing."

Shawn smiled then and taking both of Lassiter's hands he started leading him through the house.

"Wait where are we going?" Lassiter suddenly asked – as if he had to, he wasn't surprised when their trip ended in the bedroom.

"To the relaxation chamber." Shawn used a low voice, "I'm going to take care of you Lassie."

"Oh really?" Lassiter said "Wasn't it just this morning you told me to be home by 9pm sharp for a rough game of cops and robbers?"

"Yes, but it's not 9 yet – its midday, so we're doing this for now."

"It is midday." Lassiter repeated "Which pegs the question – why are you here?"

"Gus got asked to do an afternoon route." Shawn explained. "So I'm hanging out. Now – if you please, get on the bed Lassie."

Lassiter obliged and sat on the edge of the bed. Shawn sat on the foot of the bed and crossed his legs. "So what'll it be; body massage, blow job, ocean noises?"

"Neither." Lassiter said "Just a nap."

Shawn frowned again, and this time instead of playing the sweet boyfriend turned on Lassiter in an instant. "What aren't you telling me?"

_How the hell does he do that?_

"Okay -okay." Lassiter fessed up. "I got a call today – from Ray."

A moment of silence.

"Ray." Shawn said "Ray – the Canadian in the SUV?"

"Same one." Lassiter said truthfully. He didn't want to get too far into it; Shawn only knew what he was told. Having been drugged up by Don at the time the details to that scenario were still shaky for the psychic. Lassiter had hoped to keep it that way for as long as possible.

"What does he want?" Shawn asked then "Seriously – what could he possibly want? It's been over 6 months."

"I know that, but he wants to meet me." Lassiter said. "Gave me a place and time and everything."

"You're not going are you?" Shawn looked worried.

"I think I have to." Lassiter said regretfully "I'm not happy about it either – but…"

"But what?"

"He thinks, someone could be after you – again."

Shawn sighed, and surprisingly instead of just getting up and walking away he leaned in and gave Lassiter another kiss, gentler this time and he let it linger. Giving Lassiter just enough time to kiss back and let his eyes slide closed. "What else is new?" Shawn then chuckled against Lassiter's lips and gave him one more tiny peck.

Lassiter shivered, that kiss – oh that kiss. How was kiss that good even possible? Lassiter didn't know. There was no question in his mind now, Lassiter would do anything to keep Shawn breathing, and close to him. He had to. "I'm not going to let anyone hurt you this time." Lassiter promised.

"I believe you Lassie." Shawn said, "But don't worry about me. This is an equality thing okay? I'll help in any way I can."

"I don't want you to get hurt." Lassiter protested, and when Shawn smiled this time Lassiter frowned.

"If I can control it, I will not be hurt." Shawn held up his hand in a scout's honour. "Now promise me you'll let me come with you to see Ray tomorrow, that or to at least call me the second you're heading home so I can come meet you."

Both of those options seemed too dangerous for Lassiter, but Shawn was grown man – he couldn't keep him locked up. "I'll call you." Lassiter promised. Shawn kissed him again, and this time Lassiter grabbed a hold of both of Shawn's arms and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss until he couldn't breathe. Shawn moaned against him and Lassiter's response was to turn them so that Shawn was lying under him, and he was kissing down his neck.

"Let's change the subject now." Lassiter encouraged "– and since we're both here, we might as well have a nooner." He kissed Shawn again even though Shawn had started to laugh.

"Lassie just said nooner." Shawn giggled, and Lassiter rolled his eyes.

"Never mind that now Spencer Just take your clothes off."

"Yes sir!"

After the deed, Shawn had fallen into a content sleep against Lassiter's chest. Lassiter lied awake holding Shawn to him with one arm his fingers gently sliding against the skin of Shawn's forearm in a slow rhythm, he couldn't stop thinking about Ray. Lassiter sighed, whether he liked it or not though tomorrow night he had to get up and meet Ray the following evening. It just sucked. Like – really, the feeling Lassiter had in his gut now was one he couldn't describe. Finally though he turned his head a bit to regard Shawn's sleeping form, what was that weird saying Shawn had started saying recently? Oh yeah –

_Oh-my-lanta…_


	2. Chpt 2: Everybody Wants to go to Japan

**A/N: **Sorry if this Chapter's a tad confusing; I used a lot of different POVs and tried to make it flow as much as possible. -Anyway as always I hope you enjoy it and feel like letting me know what you think! This fic will be as long as the other two, but I'm going to make sure it has more action, more romance, and more Shassie! Shassie being the definite! Who knows maybe in this fic instead of actually implying that they're 'doing the deed' I'll write about it. Hehe! Who knows? I sure don't!

Chow for Now!

~Matilda

P.S:

The title of this chapter is a song lyric from the song _Japan_ performed by Coco Rosie. I know it's weird to say, but it's this song that actually got me wanting to write a third fic. So I say youtube it and give it a listen. The song isn't to everyone's taste, but you can at least appreciate the creepy vibes you get listening to it.

**Everybody Wants to Go to Japan**

The next night came around, and Lassiter had left to meet with Ray. At first Shawn was just going to sit around the apartment tapping his fingers impatiently against the table top. But when that action plan proved to be too aggravating he called Gus instead.

"Gus what are you doing right now?"

"Eating dinner – you're interrupting dinner Shawn."

"Cool!" Shawn said "Stop eating dinner and come pick me up."

"Say what now?"

"Lassie's out with some guy, I want to spy." Shawn didn't hide his intentions; he did however change the detail of who exactly Ray was to Gus. Gus didn't need to know, mainly because Shawn still didn't really know. It was still a work in progress on his part.

"You're sure?" Gus voice dropped, and Shawn loved him for that – detective or not Shawn knew Gus would mess Lassie right up if Lassiter were to wrong Shawn in any way. Thankfully Shawn knew that would never happen.

"Oh positive." Shawn said "I heard them on the phone and everything." Oh he felt kind of bad for lying.

"I'll be right there." Good ol' Gus. He knew how to make Shawn's heart go a'flutter – Shawn decided then and there that he was going to bake Gus a cake sometime in the next couple of weeks. A pineapple cake, made with love in his easy bake oven. Hell yes – it was all planned out now, and it was going to be awesome.

True to his word Gus was at the apartment in record time. Soon Shawn was in the passenger seat of the blueberry and they were on their way to a restaurant called Leroy's Place. The eatery wasn't very high end, but it looked busy none the less. Shawn was the first one to find some bushes by a window. It took a couple of quiet curse words and some weird manoeuvring for both of them to get in behind them. However both Shawn and Gus were able to fit behind the bushes comfortably enough to peer through the restaurant's windows like a couple of 12 year olds.

Lassiter and Ray were sitting across from each other at a table just close enough to the window that Shawn could just see them, they were already deep in quiet conversation and suddenly Shawn was remembering what he forgot back at the apartment.

"We didn't bring any binoculars." Shawn pouted, and he squinted pressing his face further to the glass trying to make out what Ray and Lassiter were talking about.

"So that's the guy?" Gus asked, and he gave a small huff. "I bet I could take him."

"No – no you can't." Shawn said immediately, he then pictured Gus making a swing at the massive muscle of a man Ray was and had to hold back a snicker. That so wouldn't end well for Gus.

"I will if I have to." Gus pressed "What could this guy possibly have that you don't?"

Shawn thought of a million answers to that questions but held his tongue, he only had a vague idea of who Ray was himself and wasn't willing to get Gus too involved.

"Those triceps might be something." Shawn settled on that answer instead, of course that answer met nothing to him – he remembered the photo in Don's desk six month ago and could still see the ring on Ray's finger, a detail that of course went missed by Gus.

"Triceps – bah." Gus answered "What do you think they're talking about?"

"That I am trying to figure out." Shawn said, and he squinted again peering closer into the window. "…So far all I've got is Japan." Which could be something, he vaguely remembered something being said about Tokyo 6 months ago – but it was too faint to bank anything on so Shawn put that inkling to the side for now.

"Japan?" Gus said "Maybe they're talking about J-Con coming up?"

"J-Con…" Shawn said flatly "Isn't J-Con that weird time of year where the Radisson gets ambushed by a bunch of teenagers dressed as Japanese cartoon characters?"

"They're Anime characters Shawn – and yes, I've been there two years in a row now. You should come with me, you might have fun."

Shawn gave Gus a comical side glance "You really – really worry me sometimes man."

"I worry you?" Gus exasperated "There's nothing wrong with liking Anime, deal with it."

"Anyone who feels comfortable enough to dress up as a 12 year old ninja-angel-school girl for an entire weekend has something just a little wrong with them." Shawn said, and he chuckled a bit when Gus fumed at him.

"Don't be hate'n' Shawn!"

"Relax." Shawn waved a hand at him in dismissal - "oo oo Ray's talking again!" Shawn squinted again and caught a few more words – Japan, Can Hoe? Disguises? What? ….The hell was going on in there?

At first it seemed Ray was talking coherently, Shawn could see that Lassiter was listening quite intently and Shawn tried even harder to get a glimpse of what was being said – it involved him after all right? He recognized Ray's lips saying 'psychic' a couple of times so that had to be Shawn. Suddenly though, Ray's expression changed, and the coherency in his words derailed completely. Shawn saw the topic change from a mile away, and saw that even Lassiter was suddenly confused. Shawn cursed then and noted that one of Ray's eyes was looking right at him. Shit. Shawn ducked down fast pulling Gus down with him.

"Ow!" Gus hollered "What the hell Shawn?"

"Time to go." Shawn said "Quick back to the blueberry."

Inside the restaurant Lassiter had been the first arrive, feeling antsy he had left his apartment 20 minutes early to try and calm his nerves a bit. He was still working on that when the chair across from him was pulled out and Ray Dunn was sitting across from him.

"Welcome back." Lassiter tried "How was your trip?"

"Very good." Ray answered "Lots of dead bodies."

Lassiter cringed a bit, the whole – killing people business was not something he was comfortable with. "You really sure you want to be saying that in front of a cop?"

"You really sure you want to be threatening me?" Ray countered "Remember detective, I'm not your enemy."

"Can never be too sure." Lassiter answered, and Ray smiled.

"I like the way you think detective, now down to business." Ray moved on. "You're wondering why we're here tonight."

"No – really?" Lassiter leaned in a bit resting on his forearm, "Down to it then?"

Ray obliged and reaching into the pocket of his trench, he pulled out a photo and slid it across the table for Lassiter to analyze. The girl in the photo was Asian – looking no older then 25, she was dressed in a regular jeans and t-shirt, the photo wasn't in anyway threatening.

"The hell is this?" Lassiter said. "What's so special about her?"

"That is Takaha Kanno." Ray said "And she's a lot more then what she appears to be – I was pursuing her in Japan, until I followed her here. She used to work with Don Lauren."

"Which is why you think she's after Shawn now?" Lassiter said, and Ray's response was to lean back in his seat and a take a sip from the water that was at his table.

"She's more adept to believe in the supernatural then I'll ever be, I believe she plans to use your psychic."

"You're not completely sure though." Lassiter said "I mean Don already tried getting to Shawn once, wouldn't that be too obvious?"

"Not the way she plays." Ray said. "She's a prominent drug lord, having inherited her father's empire and trickery shortly after he passed away."

"You expect me to believe, this tiny little person is a drug lord?" Lassiter said, and Ray shrugged.

"A drug lord, a master of disguise, and she has ways of getting to people without actually talking to them. Do not underestimate her detective, Shawn might be a psychic but she'll have him turned 6 different directions by the time she's done."

"Why are you telling me this?" Lassiter said "Can't you just find her and do this yourself?"

"She's good at hiding." Ray said. "I need a little inside work done."

"Inside work? How do you mean?" Lassiter was curious now – however the conversation suddenly stopped dead and Ray started talking nonsense.

"Hey Carlton, what do you think of Disney movies? Compare them between today and 30 – 40 years ago, weren't the oldies just the best? God I miss the classics, they recently re-released Bambi on Blue Ray – how awesome is that? I'm buying a copy tomorrow."

"What?" Lassiter blinked. "What?"

"More on that later." Ray said and he stood. "I'll be seeing you very soon detective, have a good night."

"Now wait just a damn minute!" Lassiter was up, but winced – people in the restaurant were staring now – dammit. Ray just laughed at him though and made his way out the back. Sighing Lassiter looked back at the photo still in his hands. Takaha Kanno eh? He made a mental note to try a background check on her at some point tomorrow. For now he was just going to get home.

As for Shawn and Gus they were out of the bush, and walking back to the blueberry now idly picking leafs and twigs out of their hair and clothes.

"So what do you think that was about?" Gus finally asked, and Shawn shrugged.

"No idea though." Shawn admitted "Probably a case – it didn't look like anything too threatening."

"Okay." Gus said "If you're sure, I'm sure."

"Awesome." Shawn said "Thanks for coming with me."

"It sounded fun." Gus admitted, they were then back at the car and Gus was opening the door when Shawn's phone rang.

"That's Lassie." Shawn frowned, he then remembered he made Lassiter promise to call him when he was done – well that was fast. Shawn answered the phone.

"Hey Lassie."

"All done." Lassiter said "So I know you're anxious – you coming to meet me?"

"Of course." Shawn said "Be there soon." He hung up and turned to Gus. "Lassie just asked me to meet him, so I'm going to turn around."

"Alright." Gus yawned. "I'm tired anyway, going home."

They fist-bumped their goodbye and Shawn turned on his heel to meet Lassiter. When he got there, Lassiter was outside and was now looking at Shawn with a raised eyebrow.

"That was fast." Lassiter commented, and Shawn gave a half shrug.

"I was already walking."

"I believe you." Lassiter said "You're filthy."

Shawn looked down at his close then, he was indeed covered in dirt. "I might've hopped a couple roofs, for old time's sake."

"You used to hop on roofs?"

"Weird phase in my teens." Shawn explained. "Quickly ended when I missed a jump by – not even half an inch and I went down hard – the result? A concussion, my dad was pissed."

"You jumped off a roof." Lassiter said "I'd be pissed too."

"Aw Lassie you do care." Shawn smiled and ruffled Lassiter's hair, Lassiter made a face and batted Shawn's hand away. Again it was their way of kissing in public, so Shawn really didn't mind.

"Now what did Ray want?" Shawn asked then, he fell into step beside Lassiter and he could tell Lassiter really didn't want to talk about it.

"I'm not completely sure." Lassiter said. "He was talking about Don, and then suddenly – Disney movies, and he bolted."

Shawn winced; Ray bolted because he spotted Shawn in the bushes. That much Shawn knew and he felt a little bad. "Well he'll probably be back." Shawn encouraged "Can I come next time?"

"I don't know." Lassiter said. "He hasn't given any indication that he wants to see you, didn't mention you."

_That's a lie. _

"I'm sure the word psychic came up a couple times." Shawn said "It must've, considering that yesterday you admitted to knowing that Ray thinks someone might be after me."

Lassiter didn't like the way Shawn was suddenly on his toes, yes there was someone POTENTIALLY after Shawn, but Lassiter wasn't ready to spill yet. "I don't know all the details." Lassiter said. "We're dropping it now."

"I want to talk about it." Shawn continued "Sooner or later I'll get a vibe or three, and I intend on telling you the second that happens."

"Well then I'll wait until you get a vibe." Lassiter countered "Until then, can you just trust that I have everything under control and that everything's fine?"

Shawn backed down then, he wasn't ready to give up on prying but the last thing he wanted was for Lassiter to be mad at him. Arguing wasn't fun at all. "Everything's under control." Shawn repeated, and he held up his hands at chest level giving a clear surrender.

"Thank you."

Lassiter changed the subject then as the two made it Lassiter's car and started to get in. "Tell me more about hopping roofs…"

Meanwhile a few blocks away Gus was just getting home, he was still pretty tired and was looking forward to curling up in bed but the usual climb up to his apartment was interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder just as he was about to unlock his door. He turned on his shoulder to see a young woman he had never met before, and she gave him a smile.

"Yes?" Gus asked.

"So sorry." The girl tried explaining. "My English – not so good. I am new?"

Gus recognized the girl's accent to be Japanese, and he looked her over again – she sure was pretty. "You're new?" Gus asked, and he smiled. "New to the building?"

"I don't know." The girl answered, and she suddenly looked nervous. Gus took the bait.

"Is everything okay?" Gus asked "Do you need help?"

The girl's eyes shined. "Hai – how you say please? My door..."

"You need help with your door?" Gus asked, and nodding the girl took Gus' hand and led the way. She took him down a floor and to the far end of the hall and pointed to her apartment door. The key of the door hanging from the keyhole, the girl showed Gus that the key was stuck by jiggling it a bit and giving Gus a helpless look.

"Aw." Said Gus, and smiling he grabbed for the key. "When I first moved here this happened all the time for me, there's a certain way you have to do it." He jerked the key to the left before slowly moving it to the right, the door clicked and Gus heard the lock come undone. "All done." Gus smiled again as did the girl and Gus decided this girl was impossibly cute.

She was wearing a tight white t-shirt that ended mid thigh, the rest of her legs being covered by black spanks and pink tennis shoes. The girl's jean jacket was also pink, the left shoulder sporting a brand logo he didn't recognize.

"Thank you!" The girl cheered, and she happily took her key back from the door. "So good – my hero."

Aw shucks, Gus blushed. "Its no big deal – Um my name is Burton but you can call me Gus."

"Gus." The girl repeated "My name Miko – Sorry, English still very bad."

"You're doing great." Gus encouraged "Well Miko if you ever need help again just come over okay?"

"Thank you." The girl chorused again, and when Gus turned around he had put on the swagger – he was going to woo this girl. He was already working on a plan to ask her out.

"Gus!" Miko's voice was loud, and he turned again to face her – he wasn't expecting her to call after him.

"Yeah?"

To Gus' astonishment Miko blushed, and she suddenly looked coy.

"Gus – you will, date me?"

"Dates as in – multiple?" Gus had to ask, and Miko blushed again.

"I like to walk." Miko answered "You walk to?"

"I'd love to." Inside his head Gus was doing the moonwalk. "How does tomorrow around 5 sound?"

"5 Tomorrow." Miko said "Yes!" and she left the conversation at that, flying into her apartment with a wave. When the door closed behind her, Gus went from mentally doing the moon walk to actually doing the moon walk.

From the peephole of the apartment Takaha Kanno watched as Gus did his silly little dance, and she rolled her eyes.

_Boys are stupid. _

However she was going to keep up this guise for as long as possible, Gus was as close to Shawn as she could get. Knowing full well her picture was already passed on to the detective; she didn't have a chance in hell if she showed her face now. There was about 20 pounds of pure Angel Dust hidden somewhere in this city, Don Lauren having been shot down before he could disclose the exact location.

The only upside to this loss being the resulting game, Takaha knew that before he was killed Don Lauren was with the psychic. The psychic she planned to use to find the drug before disposing of – only Ray Dunn was on her tail how annoying. Thus Takaha had to play it safe for now, and if worse came to worse? She'd just kill the detective to. A sadistic smile curved her lips then; maybe she'd kill the detective anyway? She remembered the last time she had killed a cop – it was fun, and Lassiter looked like he could bleed a lot.

"I'll keep his head on my mantle." Takaha said coolly, she talked to no one in particular.

Yes, it was settled. Before this whole thing was over Takaha would kill the detective – and his little psychic too.


	3. Chpt 3: Game Piece

**A/N: **I apologize for this chapter, not because it's bad but because it's A LOT of POV. Hopefully you enjoy anyway, and as always reviews are encouraged. Also this is usually the point in my stories where I ask for anyone interested to act as a beta. **Antivertigo** is an amazing beta, but her day to day life is just as busy if not more busy then mine (seriously, I should be sleeping before work right now, but instead I'm here posting fan fiction lol) so if anyone would like to give me an extra hand with my spelling and grammar then please come forward!

Thankies!

~Matilda

**Game Piece**

Ray sighed and he pressed himself against the wall, this was getting more complicated then it had to be and he blamed Shawn. Why did Shawn have to follow Lassiter last night? Were they attached at the hip or something? It was a nuisance. Shawn was a nuisance. A nuisance he planned on de-railing so that he wouldn't get his ass killed, wasn't Ray just the nicest guy?

The wall he leaned on was indeed a wall inside of the 'Psych' building, and upon his breaking and entering Ray had decided that this place smelled. Just as he was wondering if Shawn ever did any cleaning ever, he heard the door unlock and Ray couldn't help but grin. It was show time.

Shawn was surprisingly alone, and he noticed Ray as soon as he walked in, stopping dead in his tracks. "Er – hi?"

Shawn certainly wasn't expecting Ray to be in his office, he had only really come in to check his calls and email. He left the apartment this morning shortly after Lassiter left for the station and had promised to be there for lunch – perhaps a bit earlier since Gus wasn't joining him this morning. Shawn had expected to be completely alone – only he wasn't alone, Ray was here now. Ray pushed off the wall and took a step forward.

"Morning Spencer." Ray greeted and reaching for a chair he kicked it, rolling it in Shawn's general direction. "Please -have a seat."

Shawn didn't sit, already his hand was twitching for his phone, he was extremely wary of Ray's presence inside his office. Ray seemed to catch that notion and made a _pfft_ sound. "Cool it Spencer; I'm only here to talk."

"Sounds good." Shawn said carefully "So talk."

"You were spying on us last night – you and your friend, why?"

"You really have to ask?" Now it was Shawn who _pfft_, "I already know that this involves me. The more I know the better wouldn't you agree? I don't know if you know this, but I like breathing."

"I like breathing too." Ray agreed. "But the situation is under control, you're fine."

Shawn's eyes narrowed and he looked Ray over sceptically; he didn't fully trust the man and had to suppress the urge to pout. He then idly wondered if this was how Lassie felt when Shawn was working with Don six months ago. It really wasn't a good feeling. "What about Lassie?" Shawn had to ask then.

"Lassie?" Ray blinked, and then gave a chuckle "You mean the detective? He's fine too, but not if you keep rubbing your nose in it."

"Tell you what Ray." Shawn came to a compromise. "How about – you just let me do what I do, okay? If you let me in on this, I'm willing to bet I can help you achieve your goal."

"That's fantastic." Ray answered dryly "Only you don't know what my goal is 'psychic', I'm willing to bet you don't even have the first clue as to what any of my goals are."

"Japan." Shawn said immediately, and Ray visibly tensed.

"So – you can read lips." Ray said "I had an inkling."

"Not even close." Shawn lied right away, someone like Ray knowing his secret could be dangerous as hell – he wasn't taking the chance. "I can see it, very clearly – Harajuku girls doing the Fox Trot, Sakura blossoms in full bloom, Mt Fuji, Tokyo Tower."

At mention of Tokyo Tower Ray's expression darkened – very slightly, and Shawn almost took a step back. He was honestly just naming random Japanese attractions he remembered from a book he sort of skimmed back in high school for some report he never finished. But the way Ray reacted to mention of Tokyo Tower had Shawn on a line now. Pure luck on Shawn's part, not that he could let Ray know that.

"Tell me about Tokyo Tower Ray." Shawn insisted "and while you're at it, you might as well tell me everything else."

Ray pursed his lips, and gave Shawn a stern look over – this 'psychic' sure was persistent. He was torn between wanting to shake Shawn's hand and wanting to shoot Shawn in the mouth. "There's nothing to tell." Ray said flatly.

"That's a lie." Shawn answered "But I won't hold it against you. I'm in this – whether you like it or not."

Ray had to keep from frowning, it wasn't an official case but Shawn was already giving it everything he had. Ray could read the raw determination on Shawn's face and almost envied him for it – the last person he met who wore that expression was his husband Terry. Only it was that same expression that got Terry killed. Terry had jumped right in without being asked and he was gone now. Ray sighed. He couldn't let that happen again, not to someone else's lover.

"No." Ray didn't make it a compromise. "This is my game Spencer; it's been my game for years. You're not getting involved."

"You involved me the second you called my boyfriend." Shawn reminded him. "Throw me a bone here, let me in – and for god's sake tell me who might be after me."

Truthfully Ray had only wanted Lassiter to release Kanno's photo to the press, he had to assume that causing an unnecessary stir in the public would drive the woman out of Santa Barbara – but that plan got delayed when Shawn shoved him self behind that stupid bush last night. Ray had no intention of involving Shawn or Lassiter any further then they had to be, but Shawn wasn't listening to reason. Ray suddenly decided to switch gears, figuring the psychic would respond more accordingly to fear.

Ray took the initiative and was now towering over Shawn, leaning close enough that Shawn could hear every individual syllable and feel every hot breathe on his face.

"Listen here you little fake." Ray's voice was menacing, and when Shawn's eyes came into direct contact with his, Ray grinned – good he was listening. "This is not a game, this is not one of your pussy little cases. You can't razzle dazzle your way through this – your best option is to go home and forget it ever happened. If that's not an easy enough concept for you to handle I swear on my life I will kill you myself, detective or no detective – we clear?"

Shawn was taken aback, Ray got right up in his business now didn't he? Now Shawn had to re-cap a moment. Up to date he had been tied down and sliced up by crazy doctors, he had been drugged by a lunatic and left to die in a motel room. Both of those situations were way -way scarier then this. So was Shawn really going to let Ray have his way? Shawn grinned, and he heard Gus' voice in the back of his head.

_Ah hell no!_

When Ray was done talking, Shawn let a moment of silence stretch between them, he wanted Ray to be good and sure he got his point across before Shawn happily disappointed him.

"Ray if you were going to kill me you would've done it already. Also _just so we're clear_ I am _very _good at what I do. The _razzle dazzle_ as you so eloquently put it? Is only half the fun. So you can act tough; and you can give me all the de-motivational speeches as you damn well please. But if you're going to drag Lassie into all this and try to leave me on the side lines? Well I'm sorry but I have to put it bluntly – you've got another thing coming, because nothing short of Rambo will get me to back down."

Ray and Shawn were neck and neck now, Ray was impressed – Shawn wasn't afraid of him at all. The way his eyes glinted was really reminding Ray of Terry now and Ray swallowed.

_Stay focused._

"Fucking psychic." Ray spat, and he backed up. "You've got more balls then I took you for."

"So you're letting me in?" Shawn sounded suddenly hopeful, and Ray looked him over again in disbelief. Shawn just went from 'big man on campus' to 'little boy on Christmas' how the hell was that even possible? It was weird, but admirable – no wonder the detective loved him so much.

Part of the reason Terry was killed was because Ray was too busy trying to protect him, and since he saw a lot of himself in the detective he knew Lassiter was apt to making the same mistake. So Ray decided in that instant to do Lassiter a favour. Pulling out a .45 Ray held it out for Shawn to take. "Alright Spencer, since you're so determined I'm curious now. Show me how good your shot is."

Shawn blinked and looked at the gun that was now in his palm. "Wait – you want me to shoot you?" His voice returned to its normality now, and he made a face that very plainly asked the question _'what the hell dude?'_

"Fuck no." Ray's reaction was vulgar, but Shawn didn't seem to mind. "Something in the office - something small."

Shawn manoeuvred the gun in his hands like a pro, the skill not going unnoticed by Ray – maybe giving a Spencer a gun was a bad idea… Ray honestly didn't take Shawn has the firearms kind of guy. Shawn aimed then; Ray followed the line of the barrel to a stapler on one of the desks, and he was even more impressed. It was going to be a perfect shot. Shot didn't shoot though; instead he went back to standing casually.

"I don't know." Shawn said then. "This feels kind of weird."

"You want in don't you?" Ray reminded him. "You gotta show me what you got – now shoot dammit." At this point Ray had gotten over his surprise at Shawn's accuracy and just wanted to see a stapler get shot.

"Yeah but guns are loud." Shawn said. "This is a busy area, someone's bound to hear."

Ray's expression contorted into surprise again, Shawn was being thoughtful of his outer surroundings. Ray briefly wondered then if Shawn ever considered becoming an assassin. Ray held back a laugh at the thought – the idea would never work. Shawn was too exuberant a character; even now Shawn was wearing a bright green polo and khaki's. And the way he constantly frolicked around was a guarantee he could ever go unnoticed.

"I put a silencer on all my guns." Ray encouraged "Now take the stupid shot Spencer."

Shawn obliged and taking aim, he fired this time. The stapler went flying off the desk in three different pieces. Ray's reaction was to give Shawn a congratulatory thumbs up.

"Does this mean I'm in _now_?" Shawn asked then, and Ray had to nod – a deal was a deal after all.

"We'll be in contact Spencer." Ray went to leave then, only stopping when Shawn grabbed his arm and tapped him with the butt of the gun.

"Don't forget this." Shawn said. Ray smiled, Shawn was coming off more and more like Terry with ever second that passed between them -it was scary.

"Keep it." Ray said. "It's a gift, and try to keep it close. You might need it soon."

Ray was gone then, leaving Shawn just a little perplexed. Shawn blinked then and looked again at the .45 before putting the safety on. He owned an illegal firearm now – awesome. What a great thing to have when you live with a cop full time! On the bright side Shawn was now invested in this whole mess and felt a lot better. Lassie wouldn't be doing it alone. They could watch each other's backs. He just hoped Lassie felt the same way.

Now -Ray might've said they'd be in contact, but Shawn was anxious and he wanted to get to work. He decided to look for obituaries in Japan, obituaries and missing person's reports. He doubted they'd take him anywhere but it was good to pass the time.

Meanwhile Ray had made it back to his car and it took him a second of staring at his steering well to realize that Shawn just talked him into letting him help with Kanno.

_The kid's a freaking jedi… _Ray shook his head still unable to believe a civilian bested him, even though he had been in his field of work for _years_ before he ever knew Shawn Spencer existed. God dammit.

"Whelp, if he gets killed it's his own damn fault."

But even as Ray said the words he still doubted that out come, and he even felt a little hopeful. Maybe with the psychic and the detective on his team finding Kanno would be easier? However Ray did know Kanno's patterns pretty well, she was probably already right under their noses and forming a strategy. The very idea was just as aggravating as Shawn Spencer's stubbornness.

Back at the station Lassiter was getting a little anxious himself; Shawn had promised to come and have lunch with him but he had yet to show up. 20 minutes passed before Lassiter decided to give Shawn a call and make sure he was okay. The phone rang a few times, but thankfully Shawn answered – and Lassiter could tell he was distracted.

"Go for Shawn."

"You're late Spencer." Lassiter used his 'serious' tone and cradled his phone between his neck and shoulder.

"Late?" Shawn's voice sounded distant and a little confused, but eventually he came around. "Lassie! Holy Macerole! I'm so late!"

Lassiter actually chuckled forgetting for just a second he was at his desk. "Yes, you're late – what are you doing?"

"I'm at my computer." Shawn said then. "Looking over a few things,"

"Anything important?" Lassiter asked lightly, and the answer he got was not the one he was expecting.

"Just some things Ray and I talked about earlier."

"Ray?" Lassiter's voice dropped very low then "When did Ray talk to you?"

"This morning." Shawn explained "Broke into my office and waited for me, we exchanged some real nice words – well some were nice, and some were mean, but the end result? I'm totally on board."

"You are?" Lassiter didn't sound impressed.

"Yes." Shawn said, "I'm on board for as long as you're on board."

"Shawn I don't want this." Lassiter had to be honest.

"You think I do?" Shawn retorted. "But the bottom line is - there is someone out there, someone who can potentially hurt me and the people around me. I know you Lassie, as much as you don't want to, you're going to do what you think you have to try and keep me safe."

Lassiter didn't deny it, all he wanted was Shawn safe. Shawn safe and wrapped in a damn cocoon, his resounding silence was all the answer Shawn needed however.

"I want you to be safe Lassie." Shawn said. "So I'm in, we've got each other's backs now." Shawn chuckled then "I want to say like Thelma and Louise, but that references is over used – even for me….so I'm settling on my close second, Lassie? Will you be the Bonnie to my Clyde?"

Lassiter sighed, "Okay." He didn't exactly like being compared to an outlaw, but he knew Shawn was just playing around.

"Still hungry?" Shawn asked then.

"Yeah I guess so." Lassiter said. "Don't know if I have time now though."

"Nonsense!" Shawn said. "I'll bring us a couple of subs."

"I have food with me already Shawn."

"Greek salad and cream corn, yeah I know – and can I just say? Ew." Shawn's voice was a tad mocking, but Lassiter appreciated the light heartedness to it. Shawn was changing the topic for now and that meant a lot to the detective, though he'd never openly admit it to anyone who asked.

"A sub sounds great then."

They hung up, and Lassiter pressed a hand to the bridge of his nose. What the hell was Ray thinking just recruiting Shawn like that? And further more – if he was going to recruit Shawn why the hell didn't he just invite them both to dinner the other night? Two answers came to Lassiter's mind; either Ray wasn't entirely trust worthy, or Shawn had somehow talked him into it. A part of Lassiter had his nails dug into the former –but if he knew his boyfriend oh -and he did…then the ladder was most likely the truth.

_On the bright side Shawn's acting more like his old self again. _

Yes, after being attacked twice by two very formidable opponents there was a period of time where Shawn had morphed into something less then Shawn. He would only take cases that had a certain 'feel' to them. Most of them being private citizen cases as opposed to police cases, also the amount of 80's references used in a day had dropped, and the hours spent in his office spiked. Lassiter had felt awful and partially responsible. So he did his best to get the real Shawn to come back around, which he eventually did – sort of. Shawn was noticeably more serious at times now, but light hearted jokes and strange antics were back to being constantly right around the corner. A fact which Lassiter supposed was the most he could ask for.

The doors of the station swung open not fifteen minutes later and Shawn was flying in, sure enough carrying two subs and a couple bottles of water. A few of the uniforms hanging around stopped to greet the man as he made a beeline for Lassiter's desk.

"About time." Lassiter said, and he great fully took the sub Shawn offered him.

"Oh hush up and eat it Lassie." Shawn grinned and grabbed a chair. Lassiter obliged, and since they were sitting within the station they couldn't exactly talk about what Lassiter wanted to talk about so he settled on small talk between bites.

"What exactly did you put on here?"

"The basics." Shawn said. "Lettuce, tomatoes, salt and pepper, cucumber, green pepper – and _one_ black olive."

Lassiter blinked "…One black olive? Only one?"

"Yup!" Shawn grinned and took a swig from his water. "I figure it'd be an adventure."

Sure enough not five bites later and Lassiter found the olive. "Got it."

"And is your mind blown?" Shawn asked, and Lassiter only shrugged.

"I had a hunch it'd be somewhere near the middle."

Shawn gave a snicker, and ate more of his own sub – he was mid chew when his cell rang, Lassiter recognizing the ring right away to be Gus. Shawn reached into his pocket swallowing his bite quickly enough, and putting his cell on Lassiter's desk pressed the speaker phone.

"Yo-ho you're on speaker Gus."

"Err okay." Gus took that pronunciation in stride "I was just calling because dude – I'm in the office, and for the life of me I can't remember where I put my stapler."

"Did you check the garbage can?" Shawn asked.

"Why would it be in the garbage can?"

"Just check the can." Shawn encouraged, there was a moment of silence and Shawn shot Lassiter a wicked grin as he hung up his cell phone right in the middle of Gus' reaction.

"Shawn! What the he-"

Gus stared at his phone as it went dead, and was speechless. His stapler lay in the garbage can in 3 different pieces. It didn't look like it had been pulled apart; it looked like it had gotten obliterated. Gus wasn't sure how or even why, he just knew then that Shawn owed him a stapler.

"Your friend is – mean?"

Gus turned to give Miko a look over, she was eyeing him curiously and if possible looked even cuter then she did ten minutes ago. He had come home early from work to run into her coming out of the apartment building. She had told him she was going to buy some milk, and since Gus was already there he decided that maybe they could have their walking date early.

"Not all the time." Gus promised her. "Shawn's great."

Miko smiled and cozied up to Gus linking her arm with his. "Okay, and your friend – is coming?"

"Nah, Shawn mentioned eating lunch with his boyfriend today so I doubt he'll be back for awhile."

'Miko' smiled again and unbeknownst to Gus that was the exact answer Takaha Kanno wanted to hear. "You will show me!" She urged, and she gave Gus' arm a light tug.

"Alright, the grand tour." Gus said, and he started leading Miko around the office.

Takaha was loving every second of this 'date' Burton hung on to every slightly mispronounced word she said and didn't have to be convinced to take her to his office. He was the dorky type that took a girl to work if he thought it might impress her – god love the male ego, it made men do stupid _stupid _things. "Shawn." She said lightly "He's a good friend?"

"The best." Gus told her. "We grew up together."

"Aw so sweet." Miko said. "You are brothers?"She already knew the answer to that question.

"Close enough." Gus answered "Like I said, he's great."

The tour wasn't all that grand, the Psych office not being that big – but Takaha had seen all she needed to see. She now knew exactly where the psychic worked and when he was most likely to be around. Takaha let Gus take her out to dinner, and talk her up like she was really interested in him – and when he finally took her home, she even milked it a bit and gave him a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Very nice!" Miko said "Thank you!"

"Oh any time." Gus said "Well – have a good night Miko, I'm glad you're liking the apartment."

"Yes." Miko said. "Good night."

Gus left, and Takaha retreated into her apartment. Later that night Takaha left the apartment again and returned to the deserted psych office by herself. She didn't touch anything or take anything, instead she left something.

The tiny pink origami crane sat comfortably in the middle of Shawn's lounge chair, Shawn's name clearly written on one of the bird's wings. It was the chair Shawn usually sat in when watching television. Thus it was the first thing Shawn noticed when he came into the office the next morning. Reaching for his phone, he immediately called Lassiter.

"Detective Lassiter."

"Hey it's me." Shawn said "Look, I know last night we didn't really talk about it – but I have to ask, at dinner – did Ray give any indication of the person after me being Japanese?"

"Yeah…" Lassiter said slowly. "He did – where are you, are you okay?"

"I'm fine, I'm in the office." Shawn assured him. "But he did?"

"Yes." Lassiter said again. "How did you know that?"

"Oh you know…" Shawn answered as he lifted up the crane to inspect closer. "Just a vibe…"

A scary vibe at that, Shawn had experience – he knew how a lot of killers worked. Often leaving a calling card, only the idea of the calling card was a little back wards in this situation. Normally calling cards were used as toys just made to piss off investigating officers. No officer was investigating here, and there was no dead body in site. At least not today, Shawn frowned then and tried to work it out in his mind.

The crane was a calling card, there was no doubt in his mind about that, and the crane had his name on it which was – unsettling. Shawn took in a long breathe as it seemed to click in his mind. Given the normal nature of calling cards all Shawn had to do was work the clock a bit. There was no current dead body on the scene because it dawned on him that he was the intended target. Shawn took the crane as a forewarning, it was here in Psych, and in Shawn's chair is where his current assailant planned on killing him.

Oh joy.


	4. Chpt 4: Liar

**A/N: **First off, I'm humbly sorry for how long it took me to update. I have some serious writer's block I need to pound through, so hopefully I'll be back to speed soon. Secondly, sorry for how short this chapter is. It's a little – different, but it is part of the story so hopefully it doesn't get frowned upon too much. Reviews are always welcome, so don't hesitate to kick my ass if you don't like what you read or to praise me if you do. (By praise I mean give friendly compliments lol.)

Also not to spoil, but a reminder – later on in the chapter they mention a juicer with a penis. Out of context this reference is a tad weird, so to those who haven't read the first fic **'Stubborn or Heroic Why Does Lassie Keep Staring?'** then I have the responsibility to tell you that the juicer is an element from that fic. While just as crude as it sounds is not something I conjured up out of left field for the hell of it.

~Enjoy the chapter!

Matilda

**Disclaimer: I do not own Psych. Even though I want too, I do however own the two OCs in this chapter, and while I already know Ray seems to be accepted as an okay piece of work by my readers. I'm not sure how y'all are going to respond to Scott. That's right Scott. Read on for further details. ^_^**

**Liar**

Shawn had put the little crane in his desk drawer, unsure of whether or not he should show Lassie right away. Truthfully showing Lassie would be the smart thing to do, but Shawn did have appearances to keep up – though he hated it more and more with each day.

_Maybe I should just come clean?_

Nah, he couldn't. Lassie would kill him – seriously kill him, then Gus, followed by Jules, and then the Chief. Then his dad would laugh and leave, and Shawn would die cold and alone in jail. It was a bone chilling thought, but compared to all of the people Shawn had helped in his 'career' he'd rather die a liar. Even if lying to Lassie now hurt like a bitch.

He left his office then, unsure of what to do or who to call, Ray said he'd be in touch but what exactly was he supposed to do until then? That question was answered quickly enough however, when Shawn decided to head back to the apartment. He was in the process of letting himself in when suddenly the door swung open and Ray was standing in his threshold. Shawn who still had his key held up in mid air frowned.

"You're in my apartment."

Ray shrugged "I didn't have your phone number." He then stepped aside to let Shawn in; Shawn kept his eyes on Ray and was immediately a bit weary.

"Why are you in my apartment Ray?"

At this Ray directed Shawn's attention to the guest room. "Just setting up- go take a look."

Curious, Shawn ventured to the guest room and peered inside, again he frowned and he turned on Ray. "The hell did you do to it?"

The guestroom had been completely invaded, the bed sheets had been changed, random clothes had been strewn all over the floor, a CD player had been perched on the dresser, and the wall was covered with various posters. Some of the posters were of classic rock bands, a few more were of rappers, and at least one was a sports illustrated swim suit model.

"It looks like a teenager lives in there." Shawn didn't sound impressed, but mostly he was confused.

"A teenager does live in there." Ray answered "Your teenager actually."

The hell was Ray going on about? "Get to the point." Shawn was antsy, and that's when Ray called out.

"Scott come and introduce your self!"

Shawn blinked – what? That's when a boy roughly 15 came sauntering out of the kitchen, he was eating a single grape and looked way too comfortable. Like he had been hanging out at the apartment for awhile. 'Scott' moved to stand next to Ray and Shawn saw the familiarities straight away, the way Scott stood, from the way Scott stared Shawn down. Scott was Ray's son.

"I'm Scott." The kid waved.

"I got that much." Shawn answered, and he gave Ray a confused look.

"My boy Scott here is going to be your watch dog." Ray explained. "For the next 4 weeks, he's posing as your foster son."

"But he's your son." Shawn countered "Shouldn't your son be living with you – how the hell are you even a parent?"

"I'm not going into my life's story with you." Ray said. "This is my son Scott, he's training, and he's here for the next 4 weeks on stake out. He's been instructed to call me at the first sign of anything or anyone suspicious lurking the premises."

At that Scott just gave another little wave to remind the two men that he was still there, he even gave a sarcastic little "Yeah Scott – that's me."

Shawn saw a problem with this, why exactly was a teenager being trained? And for what exactly?

"You look concerned." Ray didn't make it a question.

"Uh – ch-yeah I'm concerned, there's a teenager in my apartment, one that – and no offence kid, but one that I didn't exactly expect. Or want. Does Lassie know about this? Have you called Lassie?"

"Whose Lassie?" Scott perked up a bit. "Is she cute?"

"Lassie's my boyfriend." Shawn said quickly enough, Scott just answered with a little 'o' face and got quiet again.

"I'll call your detective if that's what you're worried about." Ray said. "Until then, stick around a bit; learn some details about Scott you might have to remember later. Remember I'm only doing this to keep you alive."

"What about my friends?" Shawn interjected "They all know I'm not a foster parent, how the hell do I explain Scott's existence to them?"

"Scott -answer the question please." Ray turned the floor over to Scott, who cleared his throat before speaking.

"To any individual who is not directly involved with the case at hand, I am your foster child. I have documents in my bag supporting this fact; your 'application' to become a foster parent was approved 3 months ago."

"I never filed an application." Shawn said.

"It's all been taken care of." Ray assured him. "Just stick to that story, and in 4 weeks, little 'troubled' Scott will have run away through no fault of your own. You're not made out to be a bad guy, you don't have any actual responsibility to Scott, all you have to do is just let him stay here."

"Only if Lassie says yes." Shawn fell back on Lassiter immediately; Lassiter would never go for something like this, especially since it was something that went out of its way to make a mockery out of the justice system….right? …Right?

"You've GOT to be kidding me? !" Shawn nearly hollered later that evening when Lassiter had returned home. Like Shawn – Lassiter had been confused as to why there was suddenly a teenager in his house. Ray was long gone by then but Scott was still around, and he happily explained what he was doing there.

The second Lassiter agreed was the second Shawn had dragged him into their bedroom to hash it out. "You're seriously saying yes to this?" Shawn didn't like that at all.

"Yes, I'm seriously saying yes to this." Lassiter said. "As horrible as it sounds – I actually trust Ray, to a degree."

"You trust him?" Shawn's eyebrows vanished into his brow. "Since when do you trust perfect strangers?"

"Since these perfect strangers have a track record of keeping my boyfriend alive." Lassiter answered. "This isn't an ideal situation, but having an extra pair of eyes around here isn't such a bad idea."

"I don't get it." Shawn sighed "You're usually the first one denying help, I mean I love you – but I know you, you're hating this situation right now."

"I do hate it, however – think about the balance of power here. I can't exactly march up to the chief and say 'this is what's happening', the man is bloody assassin. Are you interested in getting killed? No. Neither am I; I'm also interested in not seeing you behind bars."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Shawn asked immediately.

"He's posing as a foster child, if any of us were to fess up, it can get bad. Being charged for fraud? Probably not fun. So not only is he posing as YOUR foster child, but he has documents with YOUR name on them. The evidence is built up."

"You're a cop Lassie." Shawn pointed that out right away. "And you know those documents are fake."

"Exactly, I KNEW they were fake; so now hypothetically -we're both getting charged."

At that Shawn smiled despite what they were arguing about. "You'd lie to keep me out of prison?"

"In this situation –yes, because it's beyond our control. Now if you were to do something completely stupid on your accord I honestly couldn't help you."

For brief second Shawn had considered telling Lassiter everything, but then Lassiter said that and Shawn retreated. Nope. He was still going out a liar. That was close though.

"Noted." Shawn said, and he gave Lassiter a smile. He then got back to the matter at hand. "Alright, we're both in this – we might want to get out there and actually talk to the kid."

"Good idea." Lassiter answered. "You go first."

"Wait why me?"

"I don't talk to teenagers." Lassiter got defensive. "The most I've done with a teenager is restrain them from doing something stupid, and drive them home. Believe me when I say that their parents are never happy to see me."

Shawn chuckled at that, but none the less he nodded. "Okay me first." He turned and opened the door, poking his head out of the room he saw Scott sitting on the couch; watching television, and drinking a glass of juice.

"Hey" Shawn greeted, "You found my juicer."

"Yeah it's pretty funny." Scott commented. "The penis? Kind of gay though, don't you think?"

"It really hadn't occurred to me." Shawn said. "That doesn't make you uncomfortable does it?"

"Nope." Scott answered. "My dad and Terry were together for roughly five years, I'm used to it. Just hang a sock on the door or something."

At this point Lassiter had walked up behind Shawn and for now was just observing their conversation, which was a weird one. Shawn had barely moved from under the threshold of their bedroom and Scott had yet to lift his eyes from the television.

"Terry?" Shawn said. "I didn't know that about Ray, you said they_ were_ together? Can I ask what happened?"

Lassiter quickly whispered in his ear that Terry had been killed by Don, a fact he only knew because it was mentioned in passing when Ray and Lassiter first met. Shawn made a long 'o' face followed very quickly by a "nevermind."

"I'm not going to bite." Scott said suddenly "You guys can come and sit down."

Lassiter and Shawn shared a hesitant look, neither men really sure how to act around a 15 year old. It was Shawn who dived in first, taking Lassiter by the hand and guiding him to the couch to sit down. The three of them stared ahead, Scott leaned back with his arms crossed and Shawn and Lassiter leaning forward looking uncomfortable.

"So Scott…" Lassiter eventually asked. "You're Canadian?"

"For the most part." Scott answered "With my dad's line of work, you move around a lot."

"Oh." said Lassiter "So it's kind of like having a military dad?"

"Nope, when my dad does a job only one person dies." Scott sounded so casual about that, it irked Shawn a bit – teenagers should not be that comfortable talking about death.

"Tell me what it was like." Shawn wasn't sure why he was asking. "Growing up with a dad like Ray – it can't be normal."

"It was fine." Scott said. "He's my dad, he's my dad and right now I'm helping him on a job. That's all you need to know."

Scott didn't exactly shut them out, but he did leave little room for communication. He stood up then and stretched. "Going to my room, knock if you need me."

"Shouldn't we talk more?" Shawn was up to. "Get some details on you, you know – in case people ask…?"

"Not today." Scott answered. "Today I'm getting settled, tonight I do my first watch, and then tomorrow we can dish it all out."

"I'd rather dish now." Shawn didn't like the way Scott was speaking to him, thus he challenged the boy. "While we're all still here."

"Nope." Said Scott. "Don't feel like it, going to my room now." He gave a cocky grin and turned on his heel, Shawn made a move to stop him but Lassiter put his hand on Shawn's arm.

"Tomorrow." Lassiter said. "Just give it a night, okay?"

"One night." Shawn reluctantly agreed. "One night – but tomorrow? I'm getting my way."

Lassiter grinned at him, a stupid grin Shawn had never seen before.

"That's a new look." Shawn commented. "Did my head grow a chocolate bar?"

"No." Lassiter said. "Just laughing at you."

"Oh." Shawn said. "Wait why?"

"Because you're Shawn Spencer; care free, charismatic, over the top eccentric – but left with a teenager for longer then a few hours and you turn into Henry Spencer."

Shawn froze, and he thought about it. "Dude….so NOT cool that you just said that."

Lassiter's only response was to just give Shawn a kiss. "Don't worry about it." Lassiter encouraged. "Your dad isn't an unattractive male; if you get your looks from him too, I might not put a bag on your head later in life."

Lassiter walked away then, chuckling, leaving Shawn baffled. "Not cool Lassie!"


End file.
